Expanding and Enhancing All Payer Claims Data Base System Capacity in States Conference Type/Category: Infrastructure Development ABSTRACT Recognizing the need for system-wide data, 151 states have established or have enacted study legislation to develop claims reporting systems. In addition, a growing number of states are in the process of exploring the feasibility of creating similar system and in states without a legislative mandate, there may be voluntary reporting of claims data. These state databases are collectively known as All-Payer Claims Databases (APCD)2. States at the forefront of aggregating health care claims data and are seeking technical assistance, but have limited funding for this, including travel support to national conferences. At a critical time in te development and expansion of statewide APCDs, state budget constraints are resulting in freezes or limits in employee travel budgets. The National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO), in partnership with the All Payer Claims Databases Council (APCD Council), propose funding to offset the costs of a one-day APCD meeting and assist up to 26 state officials attend. This Fifth National APCD Conference will be held the day prior to NAHDO's 26th Annual Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia on November 14, 2011. This conference will build on the momentum of the first four National APCD Conferences and expand the body of knowledge and transferring state lessons learned in this important area. 1 Maryland, Maine, Kansas, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Utah, Oregon, Minnesota, Tennessee, Colorado, New York, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia 2 APCDs are large-scale databases that systematically collect health care claims data from a variety of payer sources which include claims from most health care providers. APCDs are databases, typically created by a state mandate, that generally include data derived from medical claims, pharmacy claims, eligibility files, provider (physician and facility) files, and dental claims from private and public payers. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Outpatient utilization is escalating and states need information about patterns and variation in outpatient care to understand about the performance of the entire health delivery system. States are implementing All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs) to augment existing data systems, including hospital discharge and disease surveillance systems in to improve population health, evaluate effectiveness of public health interventions, increase transparency, and monitor the quality and cost curves. This conference will advance data and information infrastructure capacity across states and promote uniformity and comparability in state APCDs.